Circumstances Beyond Control
by Cajun Quinn
Summary: Whew! I know, I know, I said I'd be working on part four of my series, but this idea absolutely refused to die. You know what I mean. Anyway, please r/r if you don't mind. I will now get my butt in gear and start working on the story I promised you...=)


Circumstances Beyond Control   
A story by Quinn Logan

Introduction: I was literally hit with the inspiration for this story at four a.m. in the morning (I swear, all my great ideas come in the middle of the night!) This is the kind of story you can't do with any main character, like Gambit or Wolverine, because so much information is already known about those characters, and it would be really easy to goof it up. However, if you take a secondary character, one who only shows up once in awhile, one who's entire life is unknown, maybe even to the people at Marvel, you have the makings of an appealing, unique story. And we all know how much I enjoy doing unique things!   
Emil Lapin is my second-favorite member of the New Orleans Thieves Guild (Remy being my favorite, of course) and because he fascinates me, I thought it would be interesting to write the story of his life. Of course, I only know the following things about him: his name, who he is (member of the Clan Lapin and member of the Thieves Guild, now the Unified Guilds) and what he can do (computer specialist), so absolutely everything else in the story is totally made up from my own head (hence the uniqueness!).   
The story spans a great deal of Emil's life, so there will be little notes that say things like "Five Years Later" before some of the sections of the story...if I went into detail about everything I make up about his life, it would be a novel before I was done, and we all know I'm already writing one of those, so I don't want to do that with this one! *grin*   
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own any of the Thieves, including Emil and Remy (although I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to give me those two for Christmas!)...Marvel owns them, I'm just borrowing them for the story. I do own Francois, Marie and Chloe Lapin (the people I invented to be Emil's parents and sister) and I also own the whole story itself. Accuracy with the Marvel world has never been high on my list, and this story, which I'm writing merely for entertainment, is no exception, so please don't sue me for taking so many liberties. Merci! 

*** 

There was a knock at the door. Emil, who was lying on his bed pretending to sleep, cracked open one eye and sighed. He knew it could only be one of two people: his mother or his sister. No chance of it being his father. His father would be angry with him for a couple more days before he'd decide to speak to Emil again. Not that Emil really minded...he and Papa had a hard time seeing eye to eye these days. 

The knock sounded again. Emil sighed for a second time and opened the other eye, silently praying, 'Please let it be Maman....' He didn't move off the bed. He didn't feel like it. Rather than let the person in the hallway knock a third time, he called out, 

"Come in." 

The door opened and Emil saw that it wasn't his day for his prayers to be answered. He raised an eyebrow at his younger sister as she shut the door behind herself and sat at his desk. 

"Chloe, what d'you want?" 

Chloe glared at her brother. She stuck her tongue out at him in true eleven-year-old fashion and grinned. "What were you and Papa arguin' 'bout b'fore?" she wanted to know. 

"Why don' you ask him?" Emil replied as bitterly as he could. He loved Chloe dearly, she was a cute little kid who had the good fortune of inheriting their father's wavy dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Emil was the one stuck looking like their mother, with thick red hair and blue eyes. Not that he minded his eyes. He didn't. But he really hated his hair. Especially when the kids at school called him "Fire truck" or "Archie Andrews", which they did on a very regular basis. Only the nickname his best friends, Henri LeBeau and Genard Alouette, gave him, "Red", didn't get on his nerves. Chloe called him that from time to time as well, and he didn't mind it coming from her either. 

"Emil...c'mon, you know he won' tell me!" Chloe was exasperated, probably at both Emil and their father. "He won' tell me anyt'ing, an' Maman won' b'cause she's 'fraid he'd find out an' get mad. What's up?" 

Emil sighed again and rolled over to face her, pillowing his head in his arms. "It's de same t'ing as always. I brought home an application for dat school I want to go to. He doesn' want me to even apply. He doesn' understand...he jus' wants me to be a normal t'ief like everyone else in de Guild. T'ing is, dey don' have a computer specialist, an' dey need one. He doesn' get dat." 

Chloe looked thoughtful. "If you like computers dat much, why don' you jus' go to de school anyway, no matter what he says?" she asked. 

Emil snorted, then sighed. "Go 'gainst Papa? Chloe, are you nuts? He'd flip. No, I'll jus' have to settle for being like de rest of de Guild. I so did want to be different, t'ough. An' it's not like I'm not already good at doin' t'ings wit' computers, you know?" 

"Oui...mais you're right, Papa won' listen. Emil, what would you do as a computer specialist in de T'ieves Guild anyway?" Chloe asked, moving over and sitting beside her brother. 

Emil wrapped an arm around her and smiled. "Man, you have no idea, kid. Okay. In de simplest terms I can t'ink of, here we go. Places are protected by security systems. Dose systems are made with computers. A computer specialist would be able to get around dose systems an' allow de t'ieves to get into de buildings an' rob dem." 

Chloe blinked. "An' you sayin' Papa doesn' t'ink dat's a good t'ing?" 

Emil laughed. "Papa jus' doesn' want me doin' it. He wants me to be like him an' grandpa an' everyone b'fore me. I can' help it if dat isn' what I want." 

"Why don' you talk to M'sieu LeBeau?" Chloe suggested. She knew Henri's father was the leader of the Thieves Guild, Emil had told her that one day after Henri and Genard had dropped him off after school. In her reasoning, if Papa wouldn't listen to Emil, and wouldn't let Emil do what he wanted to do, maybe he'd change his mind if the suggestion was coming from the Guild's leader, instead of his own wayward seventeen year old son. 

"What makes you t'ink Papa would listen to him?" Emil asked. The idea appealed to him. He wasn't sure if it would work, but something in his gut told him it would. He knew his father held Jean-Luc LeBeau in very high regard. Still, there was a problem... 

Chloe crossed her eyes at Emil. "You know he would, silly." 

"Oui...mais..." 

"But nothing! Papa will listen to M'sieu LeBeau, we both know it, so all you have to do is talk to M'sieu LeBeau about going to dat school an' becoming a computer specialist. You'll get in for sure wit' your grades an' your knack for computers...what's de problem?" Chloe demanded. 

"Chloe, we can' afford de school." Emil sighed. "I checked. I t'ink dat's more what Papa gets so mad 'bout, not jus' de fact dat I want to go. We may be in de T'ieves Guild, but he still can' afford to send me. I may as well jus' forget it." 

"Emil, non! You have your heart set on dat school, dere has to be a way somehow to get de money so you can go!" exclaimed a very indignant Chloe, hazel eyes flashing. 

"Didn' know you cared so much 'bout me gettin' what I want, mon petite soeur." Emil chuckled. 

Chloe blushed. "If you leave for a few years, I get to be de only kid in de house..." she admitted. "But I would miss you!" 

Emil raised an eyebrow. "Ah-ha! De ulterior motive appears! An' you'd miss me 'bout as much as you'd miss a toothache..." 

"Are you gon' talk to M'sieu LeBeau?" Chloe asked, changing the subject slightly to get her brother off her back. 

"Oui, I suppose. It can' hurt. But I'm not gettin' my hopes up...dere's no way we'd get de money for de tuition in time for de next semester of classes. Shouldn' you be gettin' ready for bed by now?" 

"Probably..." Chloe looked at her watch. "Or rather, more than that, I really should. Papa's still in a mood, he'd get really mad if I'm up past my bedtime. See you in de morning, Emil." 

"Bon soir, Chloe." Emil replied, giving her a brief hug before she hopped off the bed and headed out of the room. 

Chloe left Emil's room and went to her own, not bothering to tell Emil what she was thinking before she left. She had an idea in her head that once Emil got permission from Papa to go to the school, it wouldn't be hard at all to get the money. Something told her, and she didn't know why she felt this way, that M'sieu LeBeau would help her brother get to that school. After all, it seemed to her that having a computer specialist in the Guild would be a big thing, and since Emil already had a natural flair for computer-related things, he seemed to be the logical candidate. At least to his little sister. 

The next morning, Emil got up early. The only other person in the house who was up was his mother, who he adored. Chloe would likely stay in bed half the morning, until Maman made her get up. 

"Good morning, Maman." Emil said with a smile as he entered the kitchen. Marie returned the smile as her son sat at the table. She put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. 

"Emil, I apologize for your father's behavior last night..." she began. Emil shook his head. 

"Maman, it's okay. I t'ink I understand why Papa gets so upset wit' me." he told her. "I'm not mad or anyt'ing. Jus' disappointed." 

Marie sighed. "I know you want to go to dat school, Emil, but dere jus' isn' any money for de tuition. Your Papa an' I have spent hours tryin' to figure out how to get de money, b'cause we know how badly you want to go. We jus' can' t'ink of a way." 

"I know, Maman. Chloe seems t' t'ink dere's a way. Dat's why I'm up so early dis morning." Emil explained while he ate his breakfast. Marie sat across from him with a curious look on her face, her blue eyes showing concern. She had an idea that Chloe was planning something in regard to Emil, and it worried her. 

"What way is dat, mon fils?" she asked, deciding not to beat around the bush. 

"Well, she t'inks dat Papa jus' gets mad dat I keep bringin' up de school. I kind of t'ought dat too, until I t'ought 'bout it last night. Now I know it's de money issue. But she t'inks I can talk Papa into lettin' me go if I talk to M'sieu LeBeau 'bout it." Emil told his mother, silently hoping she wouldn't try to stop him. He knew it would be pointless, but he at least wanted to try for his kid sister's sake. 

Marie sighed. "De only t'ing Jean-Luc could do is tell us what we already know. De school would be good for you, an' if you go, it would be a huge benefit to de Guild, but we don' have de money. If you talk to Jean-Luc, an' he talks to your Papa, it will only make Papa feel bad." she commented. "But if you want to talk to him, go ahead." 

"Merci, Maman. I know it won' work, but Chloe wanted me to try..." 

Emil left his house and, keeping in the shadows and alleys, walked to the LeBeau mansion. He wished he had a car, like Henri did, but it never occured to him to be jealous of Henri for having so much money. Henri was his friend, always had been, and in the Thieves Guild friendship was much more important than money. 

He ran into his friend Mercy Cordeau about a block from the mansion. Mercy was a pretty blonde girl, a year older than Emil. She was also Henri's girlfriend. It was only going to be a matter of time before they got married. 

"You're up early, Emil." Mercy smiled at him, green eyes flashing brightly in the early New Orleans sunshine. Emil fell into step beside her and they walked towards the mansion together. 

"I want to talk to Jean-Luc 'bout somet'ing." Emil told her as they walked. "I assume you're goin' to see Henri?" he raised an eyebrow. Mercy blushed, but didn't reply. Emil thought it was funny that she could be so modest about being Henri's girlfriend when the whole Guild knew they were going to end up being married. 

They paused at the main entrance of the mansion. Mercy hit the button on the intercom to tell someone they had arrived. Much to their surprise, it was Jean-Luc himself who answered the door and let them in. 

"Is it safe to assume you're not both up so early to see Henri?" he chuckled. "He's up in his room." 

Mercy dashed up the stairs, still blushing furiously. Jean-Luc and Emil watched her go, then Jean-Luc turned to Emil. "Have a seat, Emil. I have somet'ing I want to talk to you 'bout." 

Emil sat on the couch in the living room, and Jean-Luc sat in the armchair across from him. While his host pulled out a cigarette and lit it, Emil wondered what Jean-Luc wanted to talk to him about. He was starting to think Jean-Luc had the second sight or something. 

Jean-Luc took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke away. He then looked at Emil with a smile on his kind face. "Can you tell me why I got a phone call from your petite soeur a few minutes ago?" he asked. 

Chloe! Emil's eyes widened in shock. He had not expected his sister to go so far as to contact Jean-Luc for him. Emil looked away, half-angry at his sister, and half-embarassed about the whole thing. "She an' I were talkin' last night...she has it in her head dat you can help me get to de school I want to go to." he answered the question quietly. 

Jean-Luc looked thoughtful. "An' what is stoppin' you from goin' to dis school?" he queried. 

"At first I t'ought Papa didn' want me to go b'cause he wanted me to be like everyone else in de Guild. But now I know de real reason he keeps gettin' so angry wit' me when I bring it up is b'cause he can't afford to send me an' he knows how badly I want to go." Emil replied with a small sigh. He hated this. Why on earth had he come in the first place? How could he have let his eleven-year-old sister talk him into asking the Guild leader for help? 

"Emil, why do you want to go to dis school so badly?" Jean-Luc asked. He had a plan hatching in his head, a plan he knew would please the young thief. Pleasing Francois Lapin would be harder, but Jean-Luc knew he could do it. 

"Why do I want to go?" Emil echoed. At first he didn't understand why Jean-Luc was asking the question, but then he clued in. "Oh. Well, I'm already good at computers, an' if I study at dis school, I will learn a lot more. I love computers, I love working wit' dem, an' I want to study to become a trained computer specialist. I don' want to be like everyone else, I b'lieve de Guild can use a computer specialist, an' I want to be dat person." 

Jean-Luc nodded. "I b'lieve de Guild needs one of dose too, Emil. I also b'lieve you can do it. So does your sister. I will talk to your father about gettin' you to dat school in de fall." 

Emil looked at Jean-Luc with total amazement in his eyes. He hadn't figured it would be so easy. Maybe he owned Chloe an apology. "Do you mean it, M'sieu LeBeau?" he asked. 

"Oui, Emil. An' if your father agrees, I don' want you to give another t'ought to de cost. De least I can do for the Guild's future computer expert is pay for his schooling." Jean-Luc replied. "Come, I'll take you home an' speak to your father while I'm dere." 

As the two left the mansion and got in Jean-Luc's car, Emil tried to comprehend what he had heard. When it sunk in, he had to smile. "Merci, Jean-Luc." he said. "Dis means so much to me." 

"Je sais, Emil. An' in de long run, it will mean a lot to de Guild as well." Jean-Luc replied. 

*** 

Emil frowned as the car pulled into his driveway. There was something wrong, but he couldn't place just what it was. As he and Jean-Luc got out of the car, Emil realized what the problem was. The door was open slightly, something it would never normally be, even if his family was at home. Members of the Thieves Guild and their families could never be too careful. The Assassins would take any opportunity to hurt them or worse. Emil paused at the door and Jean-Luc nearly bumped into him. 

"What's wrong, Emil?" Jean-Luc asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Emil jerked his head toward the door. "Door's open. It's never open. Someone's here. Or was here." Emil suddenly felt a surge of panic in the pit of his stomach. Family was important to Emil as it was to the rest of the Guild, and he was very worried about his family all of a sudden. Jean-Luc sensed the young man's worry, and put his hand on Emil's shoulder. 

"It'll be okay, Emil. Do you want me to go in first?" he asked. 

"Non. It's my house, my family. I'll go in first. But don' be far behind, okay?" 

Jean-Luc smiled. "I'm right behind you." 

Emil took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he pushed open the door so he and Jean-Luc could enter the house. The house was a mess...someone had done a very good job of tearing the place apart while they were there. "Maman? Chloe?" Emil called quietly, praying that whoever did the damage to the house wasn't still around. 

Together Emil and Jean-Luc headed through the house. When Emil got to the kitchen he stopped, gasping in horror, and hid his face in his hands. 

"Oh mon Dieu..." Jean-Luc whispered as he surveyed the scene in the kitchen. He was used to seeing things like this, and he knew somehow that the Assassins had been responsiible for it. Instinctively, he drew Emil close to him, turning the teenager away from the kitchen. Emil was trying desperately not to cry, and wasn't really succeeding. Jean-Luc couldn't blame him. The kitchen was a bloody mess, with the obviously dead bodies of Emil's mother and sister on the floor. 

Emil suddenly pulled away from Jean-Luc. "Papa!" he exclaimed, wiping the tears off his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Jean-Luc had a hard time keeping up with Emil as he raced up the stairs to the second floor of the house, seaching for his father. Emil opened the door of his parents bedroom and found his father lying on the bed, badly wounded but not dead. Not yet, anyway. 

"Papa!" Emil said, kneeling down beside the bed. Francois opened his eyes and groaned in pain. He wasn't going to be able to hang on much longer. He was glad Jean-Luc was there. Emil was going to need Jean-Luc. Breathing heavily, he reached up and took Emil's face in his hand. 

"Go to de school, mon fils," he whispered. "b'come de computer specialist we all know you can be. Make me proud of you. Make de whole Guild proud of you." 

Tears started flowing down Emil's face again. He knew his father was going to die. He sighed heavily, wishing it wasn't true. "I will, Papa." he replied quietly, silently cursing the Assassins for killing his family. 

"Let me talk to Jean-Luc, okay Emil? I have to speak to him." Francois instructed his son. Emil nodded and got up, motioning for Jean-Luc to approach the bed. He then went and stood by the doorway, out of earshot, trying to stop crying. This was turning out to be a lousy day. 

"Jean-Luc...he'll never let you or de Guild down...promise me you'll take care of him...he's goin' to need all the support he can get now." Francois said, his voice failing. 

Jean-Luc took his old friend's hand and squeezed it. "I promise. For as long as I'm here, he'll be taken care of. Henri and de others will help too. We're a fam'ly, Francois. We look after our own." 

Francois smiled softly and closed his eyes. He was in so much pain. The Assassins never did anything half-way, especially killing people. How ironic. He knew he didn't have a chance at surviving, his injuries were too severe, and there was no way Jean-Luc and Emil could get him to a hospital in time to save him. Even Tante Mattie's mystic abilities wouldn't be any use. He let out his breath one last time and felt at total peace as the life drained out of his body. 

Jean-Luc felt the tears in his eyes as he watched his friend die in front of him. It wasn't often he felt this helpless and he didn't really know what to do about it. "Good-bye, mon ami." he whispered. Hearing Emil break down in uncontrollable sobs, he realized what he had to do. He walked over to where the teenager stood and wrapped his arms around the trembling body. Knowing it would be of no use to try and sooth Emil, Jean-Luc just held him there and let him cry. The grief Emil was feeling went very deep, and needed to be felt. Jean-Luc didn't want Emil bottling it up inside, that would only make things worse in the long run. 

*** 

Three days later, the entire Thieves Guild stood at the site of the three graves, a few minutes after the triple funeral. Many of them, including Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie, were standing behind Emil. It was his family after all. However, Emil's two best friends Henri and Genard, stood flanking him, one on either side. Emil's eyes were dry in spite of the stressful events of the day, something that surprised a few people present, but not the thieves or Tante Mattie. They had all been with Emil for the past three days, none of them leaving him for anything, as the funeral preparations were made. They had all witnessed his unbearable grief, and they were all proud of him for holding up so well when it counted. 

When everything was over, they all went back to the LeBeau mansion, where Emil had been staying since his family was killed. Jean-Luc had insisted upon it. The entire group went into the living room and sat around it, silently. They were leaving it up to Emil to speak first, and he didn't disappoint them. 

"Well..." he said with the sound of unshed tears in his voice. "What de hell do I do now?" 

"What did your father tell you to do?" Genard asked. Genard, like Henri, was a bit older than Emil, but age didn't matter in the Guild. The three young men always did everything together, they were a team. Mercy and Tante Mattie called them the Three Musketeers, and for good reason. 

Emil sighed. "He told me to go to school...so I guess dat answers my question. Jus' call me de Guild's future resident computer geek." 

*** 

FOUR YEARS LATER 

"Papa?" ten year old Remy LeBeau tentatively said from the doorway of Jean-Luc's study. Jean-Luc had adopted the homeless young mutant thief six months before after the little guy had tried to pick his pocket. 

Jean-Luc looked up from the papers he was reading. "Oui, Remy?" 

"Henri an' Genard told me to ask you to hurry up. Dey said Emil's plane is goin' to be in soon an' dey don' want to be late." 

Jean-Luc looked at his watch. "Oh my lord, dat's right!" he exclaimed, slapping himself on the head and standing up. "Come on, petite, we can' keep him waiting, he'll t'ink we've forgotten all about him!" 

Remy followed his father out of the study and down to where Henri and Genard were waiting as patiently as they could, which, given the circumstances wasn't all that patient. They hadn't seen Emil in four years and were both anxious to have the entire Three Musketeers together again. "Papa, is Emil nice?" 

Henri answered his brothers question before Jean-Luc got a chance to open his mouth. "He certainly is, mon frere. You'll like him. He has a great sense of humor an' he loves kids. Why don' you come wit' us to de airport instead of stayin' here wit' Tante?" 

Remy looked up at Jean-Luc with a hopeful expression on his small face. "Can I, Papa?" 

Jean-Luc chuckled. "How could I say no now?" He asked. "Oui, you can come. If you promise to behave yourself." 

"I will...I never been in de airport b'fore..." Remy told them as they all piled into the car. 

*** 

"Whoa..." Remy breathed as he waited with Henri and Genard at the entrance to the airport while Jean-Luc parked the car. He hadn't realized that airplanes were quite that large, and as he watched the planes coming and going overhead, he was totally amazed. 

Jean-Luc laughed at the expression on his small son's face as he approached. Glancing at his watch he said, "We'd better hurry. If de plane wasn' late, he's waitin' for us." 

As they walked as quickly as they could through the crowds of people in the airport, Remy holding onto Jean-Luc's hand so he wouldn't get lost, they thought they'd never make it to the waiting area, but they did. Emil, who was sitting on one of the legendary uncomfortable airport chairs with his luggage at his feet, didn't see them coming. 

Snickering, nodding at each other, Genard and Henri sneaked up behind him and grabbed him by the shoulders. Unprepared for their attack Emil let out a yelp and jumped up, whirling around to face whoever was after him. He relaxed when he saw his two friends buckling up laughing at him and he couldn't help but join them. 

"Dat wasn' very nice!" Remy exclaimed indignantly on Emil's behalf. The older boys stopped laughing and Emil took a moment to size up the young mutant. Deciding the kid was cute, he knelt down in front of him with a smile. 

"No, it wasn'." He agreed. "But, you see, I've known dem for so long now, I don' really expect much else from dem. Now. Unless I haven' been payin' attention, you must be Remy." 

Remy nodded, his hair falling into his eyes. He was studying Emil and decided Henri must be right. Emil looked like a cool guy. 

Emil looked all around them, as if making sure no one could hear them. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked Remy. Remy nodded again. 

"Are you sure?" Emil pressed, looking around again, aware of the snickers coming from Jean-Luc, Henri and Genard. He knew they were laughing at him, but he didn't care. 

Remy tried his best to be serious. "I can keep a secret!" he exclaimed. 

Emil pretended to be mortified. "Shhhhhh!" he hissed. "Do you want de whole world to know?!"   
Remy shook his head and waited. "Okay den. Now. While I was in California, at school, do you know who came to de school I was at an' did a concert?" 

"Who?" Remy whispered, having no idea at all who Emil was talking about. 

"Michael Jackson." 

Remy's jaw dropped. "Non! Really, Emil?" he asked. 

Emil nodded. "Really. And you know somet'ing else?" he continued, fishing for something inside his coat pocket. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled it out and showed it to Remy, whose eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He wasn't the only one. Jean-Luc, Henri and Genard all had the same reaction when they saw what Emil was holding in his hand. It was a small, white, sequined glove. 

Genard was the only one who could speak. "You stole Michael Jackson's glove?" he said in astonishment. "How on earth did you do dat?" 

Emil laughed at them. "What can I say? I was bored an' I needed somet'ing to pass de time." he said, putting the glove back into his pocket for safekeeping. 

Jean-Luc just shook his head. "You're too much, Emil. C'mon, let's get you home, you must be exhausted." 

*** 

EIGHT YEARS LATER 

"I can' b'lieve what jus' happened!" Remy exclaimed in frustration. "How could he do that? What am I s'posed to do now?!?" 

"Would you relax, Rem? It's not the end of the world." Emil demanded. "And I don' really know what you're s'posed to do. Not'ing like dis has happened b'fore, right Henri?" 

"It looks dat way, oui." Henri replied. He didn't think anyone had any idea what Remy was supposed to do...after all, Emil was right and nothing like that had happened before in the history of the Guilds. 

It was supposed to be a normal enough day. Well, for everyone except Remy and Bella Donna Boudreaux, daughter of Assassin leader Marius Boudreaux. For those two, it was wedding day. They were only eighteen, but Jean-Luc and Marius had planned it ages ago, in an attempt to bring the two Guilds together. Everything had gone off without a hitch until the end of the ceremony, and then Julian, Bel's older brother had gone and ruined the whole thing. Julian hated all the thieves, and took it into his head to hate Remy even more simply because Remy was a mutant. So, after the wedding was over, hardly before they all made it out of the elaborate church, Julian challenged Remy to a duel, which was normal enough in the world of the Guilds, but it had ended very badly. Now, Julian was lying on the ground, dead, the Assassins were furious, and the Thieves were trying to figure out what to do next. 

"It was an accident!" Remy had been defending himself since the second it happened. And it really had been. His mutant powers were starting to manifest themselves, and he had very little control over them. He really had not planned on doing more than hurting Julian a little bit. He had had no intention of killing his brother-in-law. Now Bel wasn't talking to him, and no one knew what to do. 

"I'm goin' go talk to de others," Henri said. "You guys stay here. And if Mercy comes back from tryin' to talk Bel into seein' reason, tell her I'll be back later." As predicted, Henri and Mercy had tied the knot themselves five years prior to this day of disasters. 

Emil nodded and went over to where Remy was sitting. "I have to leave Emil," Remy said sadly. "It's de only way. I mean I don' t'ink anyone has any real love lost over Julian, but dat's not de point. I have to find a way to control my powers an' until I do, I really shouldn' stick around. Someone else could get hurt." 

"B'sides, Bel ain' gon' be talkin' to you for awhile," Mercy commented, joining them. "She's pretty ticked off. They all are." She gave Remy a hug. "I'm sorry, kid. We all tried so hard for you guys. Even dey did. Has Henri gone to talk to Jean-Luc an' de others?" 

"Oui. He'll be back." Emil replied. Mercy nodded as Remy rose and headed for the stairs. He was going up to his room to pack. 

"Remy where are you goin' to go?" Mercy and Emil both asked at the same time. 

Remy shrugged. "If I knew dat, I wouldn' be quite so lost, would I?" he inquired cryptically. Remy went upstairs and had his belongings packed and was gone from the house before Henri and the rest of the Guild got back. 

Jean-Luc gave Emil and Mercy a curious look. "Where's Remy?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. Mercy started crying, but Emil gave him an answer. 

"He's gone." 

"What do you mean he's gone?" Henri demanded. 

Emil raised an eyebrow. "What d'you mean, what do I mean? I mean de kid's gone. Adios, bye-bye, have a nice life. What more d'you need?" 

"Where did he go?" Jean-Luc asked. He was worried, especially since he knew how angry the Assassins were. If they caught wind that Remy wasn't safe in his home, they might go after him to extract a little revenge. 

"If we knew dat, don' you t'ink we'd be followin' him instead of sittin' here talkin' to you?" Mercy asked. "Even he didn' know where he was goin'." 

Jean-Luc went over to the window and looking out, let out a sigh that seemed to come all the way from his toes. Emil went and stood beside him. "He'll be okay, Jean-Luc." he said in as comforting a voice as he could muster given the fact that he was worried too. "After all, we taught de kid everyt'ing we know. Dat's gotta count for somet'ing." 

*** 

Much to Emil's surprise, he was the one who got the phone call from Remy three weeks later. He was in the apartment he shared with Genard, who was asleep on the couch, when the phone rang. Emil grabbed it quickly, not wanting it to wake Genard up. Emil had learned from experience that Genard wasn't the most pleasant person when he first woke up even if it was in the middle of the afternoon. 

"'Ello?" 

"Emil?" the familiar voice on the other end of the line asked. Emil almost dropped the receiver, but somehow managed not to. 

"Remy?! Kid, where are ya? D'you have any idea how worried we've all been?" 

Remy sighed. "I can' tell you where I'm at, Emil. Got my powers somewhat under control t'ough, an' dat's somet'ing." 

"So come home for cryin' out loud." 

"I can', Emil, you know dat." Remy sighed again. "Dey'd kill me an' Bel would lead de way. It's gon' be a long time b'fore I can go back dere. I jus' wanted to talk to you Would you tell de others I'm okay? I'll call Papa an' Henri once I find a place to get settled for more dan a few days." 

"I'll tell dem," Emil agreed reluctantly. "Jus' call dem soon, okay? I hope dey don' b'lieve in shootin' messengers..." 

Remy laughed. "As if dey'd ever shoot you for anyt'ing, Emil." 

"Yeah well, de way t'ings have been 'round here since you left, you'd never know it." Emil replied. 

"Look, Emil, I gotta go....I miss you guys..." Remy said softly. 

It was Emil's turn to sigh. "Right back at you, kid. You take care of yourself, okay?" 

"I will." Click. 

The second Emil hung up the phone, Genard woke up. He cracked open one brown eye and looked at his best friend and roommate. "Who was dat?" 

"Remy." was Emil's short reply. He almost laughed. The second he said the name, Genard's eyes snapped open and he was wide awake, in a sitting position and staring at Emil like he had two heads. 

"Is he okay?" 

"He sounded okay. Tired, but okay. Kinda like de rest of us, non?" Emil sighed. "He's not comin' home. An' I'm de lucky one dat gets to tell Jean-Luc dat wonderful piece of news." 

"Well, I don' envy you dat job, mon ami. Jean-Luc's not goin' be happy 'bout dat. But it's not like any of us can do anyt'ing 'bout it. We can' exactly go all over de world lookin' for de kid so we can bring him home." 

"I know..." 

*** 

THREE YEARS LATER 

"I called dis meetin' for a reason." Jean-Luc began after his thieves were assembled in the living room at his mansion. "Mattie?" he looked at Tante Mattie for the explantion, rather than give it himself. She was, after all, the one who had told him what was going on. As someone who worked for both the Thieves and Assassins, she would often play go-between, but if something was wrong, she didn't hesitate to take sides. Being the kind-hearted woman she was, the side she often took was the thief side. She wasn't fond of the way the Assassins did things. 

"As we all know, de tithing is coming up next week." she started. The thieves all nodded, Jean-Luc included. The annual tithing was a ritual done by the Thieves and the Assassins, and they all placed extreme importance on it. The benefactress of the two Guilds was the External called Candra, and while neither Guild really knew what or who she was, the ancient prophecies of the Guilds told them to honor her every year, so they did. It wasn't often that the laws of the prophecies weren't carried out. In exchange for the tithing, Candra gave the Assassins power...what kind of power the Thieves never knew...and the Thieves themselves got the Elixer of Life, which was how Jean-Luc, for instance, could be born in the 1880s, and still look forty-five over a hundred years after his birth. 

"I have it on good authority...in my opinion anyway...that the Assassins are planning on sabotaging the tithing on us. Plans are underway to exchange your gift with an empty box which we all know would anger Candra deeply." Tante Mattie explained amid their angry exclamations. None of them really liked the Assassins, and they felt it was very underhanded of them to dare try something like that. 

"That is so like dem!" Claude Poitier grumbled. "Dey're always tryin' to better demselves...don' dey know better den to mess wit' the tithing?" 

"We have to stop them!" Theoren Marceaux said angrily. "Dey can' get away wit' somet'ing like that. Jean-Luc what are we doin' 'bout dis?" 

"Theoren, calm down." Henri commanded. "We have a plan. I'm going to New York to get Remy. If anyone can stop them, he can. I'm leavin' in a few minutes." 

Jean-Luc cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. "Until Henri an' Remy return, we're all jus' goin' to sit tight an' wait. I jus' wanted you all to know what was goin' on." 

A few hours later, they were all, with the exception of Henri, still hanging around the LeBeau mansion, waiting for Henri and Remy to get there. Theoren and Claude were still silently fuming over the whole thing...they'd been in the Guild almost as long as Jean-Luc had...but they kept it to themselves. Emil, Genard and Mercy were talking about how good it was going to be to see Remy again, and the Guild's newest member, Zoe Ishihara, a thief from Japan, was listening to them. Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie were in the kitchen, getting supper ready. Everyone had to eat, even if they weren't that hungry. 

When they heard the front door open and slam shut as if someone had kicked it, they all expected to see Henri and Remy come in, and that's what they saw. What they didn't expect was to see Remy, looking sadder than any of them had ever seen him, carrying his older brother in his arms. 

"Remy put him on de couch." Theoren ordered. He looked at Emil, who jumped up and ran to the kitchen door. 

"Jean-Luc, Tante, get out here!" he yelled to them. Hearing them dropping everything he went back to where the Guild had gathered around. 

"Remy, what happened?" Theoren asked as Jean-Luc and Tante Mattie got there. Mercy was as white as a sheet, her green eyes wide with fear. Claude had put an arm around her shoulders to support her. 

Remy shook his head. "He showed up, got de shock of his life when he startled Wolverine an' told me what was goin' on here. We were leavin' to go to de airport...all dese gunshots start ringin' out all over de place. Next t'ing I know, Henri's on de ground an' Wolverine's slashin' up Assassins like dey're his worst enemy instead of ours." Remy paused to catch his breath. "I didn' know what else to do, so I took Henri's body an' came here." 

"Are dey dead?" Claude asked. "De Assassins, I mean." 

Remy snorted. "Oh yeah. No doubt 'bout dat. Logan made sure of it." 

Everyone paused as Tante Mattie finished examining Henri. She looked at Mercy, Jean-Luc and Remy. "I'm sorry...if it had happened here, I might have been able to do somet'ing for him. Too much time has gone by." 

"I got here as fast as I could..." Remy began. Tante Mattie shook her head. 

"It's not your fault, child. We know you did. It was out of your control, don' make excuses for dat." 

The others were so busy trying to comfort Mercy, who had started crying uncontrollably upon realizing Henri was really and truly dead, that they didn't notice Emil had left the room, with Genard close behind him. The Guild's version of the Three Musketeers had very suddenly been permenantly cut down to two. The two remaining didn't know exactly how to deal with the loss. They went outside and sat side by side on the front steps of the mansion, hugging their knees. 

"You know," Emil sighed. "Dose Assassins are really startin' to tick me off." 

"Dey don' like us much, do dey?" Genard said wryly. 

"Nope." 

"I feel bad for Mercy...dey loved each other so much..." Genard commented with a catch in his voice. 

"I know...an' since I also know how much dis is hurtin' me right now, I really don' want to know what she's goin' t'rough." 

"Me neither." 

*** 

TWO YEARS LATER 

"Jean-Luc you can't be serious!" Theoren exclaimed. "You mean to tell us you're just goin' to leave and not come back? An' you're also telling us you're putting Remy in charge?" 

"Dat is exactly what I'm telling you, Theoren, I don' know why it's so hard for you to understand." Jean-Luc replied, much to the astonishment of the rest of the Guild. "De prophecies have spoken. Dis is what I'm supposed to do." 

"What I don' get is de whole unification thing." Emil commented from his seat beside Genard and Mercy. "We don' like dem, dey don' like us, an' yet here you are sayin' we have to join together wit' dem and make one unified guild? I don' know, Jean-Luc, dat doesn' seem to be a great idea from where I'm sittin." 

Jean-Luc sighed. He had known when he called this meeting that it wasn't going to be easy to get the thieves to see the reason behind the whole thing. "I know dat, Emil. Given events in history, some of it still fairly recent, it's hard to accept it. But I can't exactly go 'gainst what de prophecies tell me to do." 

"Do dey accept it?" Emil questioned. Jean-Luc shrugged. 

"I don' know, yet. Bel's havin' a meetin' right now. She's goin' to call me when it's over. I won' know until den. But I know dey won' take de prophecies lightly. As I also know you don'. De right t'ing has to be done, whether we like it or not." 

Emil got up and left the room. Mercy went to follow him, but Jean-Luc stopped her. 

"Mercy, non. Let me." Mercy nodded and the rest of the guild watched as Jean-Luc followed Emil out into the back yard. 

Emil was standing in the yard, staring up at the huge trees. He didn't turn around when Jean-Luc approached him. Jean-Luc stood close beside him and remained silent. He knew Emil would talk when Emil was ready to talk. 

"Do you know how long it's been, Jean-Luc?" Emil asked, still looking up into the trees. 

Jean-Luc shook his head. In truth, the number of years since Emil's family were killed by the Assassins had become a bit of a blur to him. He wasn't young after all, and his memory, while still good, wasn't what it was a hundred years ago. 

Emil sighed. "Seventeen." he told Jean-Luc, looking away from the trees and turning to his friend. "I'm twice as old now as I was when dey died. Sometimes, in my head, it seems like it just happened yesterday. Now de two Guilds have to join into one, b'cause de prophecies say so. How ironic." 

"You haven' forgiven dem..." Jean-Luc stated. He was almost shocked, yet he knew he shouldn't be. After all, it was going to be a cold day in hell before he forgave them himself, for killing Henri. 

"Non, an' I ain' goin' to anytime soon." Emil sighed. "Look, Jean-Luc. You have to do what de prophecies tell you to do. You ain' got a choice. But dat doesn' mean any of de rest of us have to like it. I don' trust dem, I never will trust dem. But I'll deal wit' it. Like everyone else will." 

"Emil, I'm sorry...I wish dere was another way..." Jean-Luc faltered. 

Emil shook his head. "Don' be. Dere isn' any other way. I jus' hope dey listen to Remy, 'cause if dey don', it won' work." 

Jean-Luc remained quiet, thinking about that. He knew Emil was right in saying what he did. If the Assassins showed any sign of rebellion against Remy, they could pretty much kiss the unification good-bye. He also knew the whole thing was going to be difficult for both Guilds to adjust to. When two groups had been enemies for as long as the Thieves and Assassins had been, merging into one was bound to cause problems. Jean-Luc just hoped they'd get through it and be stronger because of it. 

*** 

"Whew, dat wasn' close or not'ing." Emil whispered to Genard. It was a year after the unification of the two Guilds, and they were all assembled at the Boudreaux mansion with the exception of Remy, who had been told to stay away. A vote of confidence was being held that night, and somehow they had managed by the skin of their teeth to keep Remy as Guild patriarch. Emil was glad about that, even though he knew that deep down Remy didn't want to be the leader. Never had wanted to. However, something was bothering Emil, and that something was what Genard had said when it was his turn to vote. He called Genard on it. 

"Do you mean to say dat if it wasn' for Jean-Luc you wouldn' have voted for Remy?" he demanded. 

"I have to do what I t'ink is best, Emil." Genard replied, knowing full well his best friend wasn't happy with him for saying what he'd said. In Emil's eyes, Remy should get votes on his own merits, not 'out of respect for his father' as Genard had put it. 

"Oh come on, Genard! I can understand Theoren and Claude votin' no, I mean, it's dem. They never really liked Remy to begin wit'. But you! What would Henri say if he was here right now?" 

"I don' know, Emil. But tell me dis. Why did half of de Assassins vote yes, huh?" Genard asked. "T'ings are changin', mon ami. I don' know if it's for better or for worse, but we gotta go wit' de flow or we'll get swept up in de tide." 

"An' dat analogy's comin' from a man who's never been to de beach in his life, I'm impressed." Emil joked. "C'mon. De Neo's in town...Remy needs our help or else Bel's jus' overreactin' again." 

Genard smiled back at his friend. "You jus' can' hold a grudge 'gainst me for more dan five seconds, can you?" 

"Nope! You're de only best friend I got, I ain' 'bout to jeopardize dat." Emil laughed. 

"Emil, you are such a loser." Genard laughed in return as they walked out of the mansion behind everyone else. 

"Takes one to know one, Genard." Emil retorted. 

"Oh very funny." 


End file.
